Pope Benedict's Enemies Are Twisting Facts

Pope Benedict XVI is taking an unfair beating in the world press, writes Damian Thompson. Headlines to the contrary, the then-archbishop of Munich "did not allow a priest he knew to be a pedophile to continue in ministry." He did permit the priest to receive counseling, and that "revolting pervert" was then transferred to another parish without Benedict's knowledge.

Yes, Benedict could have been "more vigilant," writes Thompson in the Telegraph, but accusations that he was complicit in a church-wide cover-up are simply untrue. "The fact is that sections of the media will not be happy until they have implicated the pope in sex-abuse scandals—and if the dots don't quite join up, never mind: it makes good copy and the Successor of Peter isn't going to sue, is he?"

(More Pope Benedict XVI stories.)